Processing plant-based material for use in smoking products

ABSTRACT

The embodiments disclose a method for processing plant-based material for smoking products including maintaining the plant-based material submerged within a liquid medium in a container while the liquid medium is being boiled, removing the boiled plant-based material from the container, and drying the boiled plant-based material, the drying comprising directing negative air ions towards and through the boiled plant-based material to at least partially neutralize odor and/or taste, a plant-based material product produced by the method is also provided as a smoking product including the plant-based material product or the plant-based material product combined with a treatment material such as CBD, CBG, a flavoring agent and combinations thereof, also provided is a plant-based material product comprising boiled plant-based material dried while being exposed to negative air ions, and a smoking product such as a cigarette incorporating the plant-based material product or the plant-based material product combined with a treatment material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.No. 63/074,386 filed Sep. 3, 2020, entitled “PROCESSING PLANT MATERIALFOR USE IN SMOKING PRODUCTS”, by Joe Deighan.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The following relates generally to processing plant-based material suchas plants or plant components that are to be included in cigarettes orother smoking products, and more particularly to methods for removing orneutralizing certain contents of such plant-based material that areresponsible for flavors and/or aromas.

BACKGROUND

There is a desire to provide consumers with alternatives to traditionaltobacco-based smoking products such as cigarettes. In the case ofcigarettes, there is a desire to provide alternatives to tobacco-basedcigarettes that offer the aesthetic aspects that consumers are familiarwith, including sizes, shapes, weights, flavors, and aromas, but that donot actually incorporate tobacco or nicotine.

There is also a desire to provide alternatives to tobacco-basedcigarettes that may be substantially the same as tobacco-basedcigarettes in their physical and tactile aspects, but that offerdifferent flavors and/or aromas than those of tobacco-based cigarettes.

Hemp is a well-known variety of the Cannabis Sativa-L plant species inthe Cannabaceae family, having very low levels of the psychoactivecannabinoid THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). Hemp has mostly hollow stalks,compound and palm-shaped leaves, and small seed-producing flowers. Hempis well known to have various uses but has also been noted as apromising basis for smoking products such as cigarettes. For example,the company Wild Hemp™ of Dallas, Tex., U.S.A. offers a Hempettes™hemp-based cigarette that is advertised to be “packed full ofcannabidiol (CBD) and terpenes to create a delicious, aromatic flavor.”

Products such as Wild Hemp's Hempettes are, at least in some ways,aesthetically similar to tobacco-based cigarettes. However, the strongaromas and flavors of such otherwise aesthetically similar products arestill very much characteristic of hemp itself. While flavoring might beadded to the hemp of a hemp-based cigarette to, in effect, slightly dullthe hemp's characteristically powerful aromas and flavors, they wouldstill very much be apparent.

Non-tobacco alternatives to hemp, such as those varieties of Cannabishaving higher levels of THC and referred to generally as marijuana, mayalternatively or in some combination with hemp be used as the basis forsmoking products such as cigarettes. However, like hemp, suchsubstitutes have their own characteristic flavors and aromas that aresimilarly difficult to dull with the mere addition of flavoring.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The strong aromas and flavors that are characteristic of hemp ariseprimarily from the unique blend of organic compounds known as terpenesthat naturally occur in the plant. Similarly, the strong aromas andflavors that are characteristic of other plants, such as marijuana,arise primarily from their respective unique blend of these compounds.

According to an aspect of this description, plant-based material isprocessed to remove at least some of the naturally occurring terpenesresponsible for the characteristic flavor and aroma of the plant-basedmaterial. The resulting plant-based material product can thereby serveas an excellent combustible basis for a smoking product that carriesless of the characteristic flavor and aroma of the plant-based materialitself, and that can be provided with a consistent flavor and aroma.

In an embodiment, the plant-based material is processed to removesubstantially all of the naturally occurring terpenes that areresponsible for the characteristic flavor and aroma of the plant-basedmaterial. The resulting plant-based material product can thereby serveas an excellent combustible basis for a smoking product that carriesperceivably none of the characteristic flavor and aroma of theplant-based material itself.

A plant-based material processed to reduce or remove the characteristicflavor and aroma of the plant-based material as described herein can befurther treated with flavoring agents such as menthol, tropicalflavoring, and/or others. Such a plant-based material product, whetherflavored or unflavored, can be treated with other kinds of treatmentmaterials such as cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), caffeine, THC,and/or others.

In accordance with an aspect, there is provided a method for processingplant-based material for smoking products, the method comprising:maintaining the plant-based material submerged within a liquid medium ina container while the liquid medium is being boiled; removing the boiledplant-based material from the container; and drying the boiledplant-based material, the drying comprising directing negative air ionstowards and through the boiled plant-based material thereby to at leastpartially neutralize odor and/or taste.

Maintaining the plant-based material submerged within the liquid mediumwhile it is being boiled is effective for reducing terpenes in theplant-based material and for cleaning the plant-based material ofphysical contaminants such as dirt, pesticides, and mold spores. Theboiling also serves to condition the plant-based material for downstreammanipulation and/or incorporation into smoking products. However,boiling tends also to reduce the levels of naturally occurringcannabinoids in the plant-based material that producers may wish to haveremained in the plant-based material. As such, to gain some of theconditioning and terpene-removal benefits of boiling without completelyremoving the cannabinoids, the time the plant-based material is boiledin the liquid medium is limited. In an embodiment, the boiling of agiven mass of plant-based material is limited to five (5) minutes.Following the boiling, the directing of negative air ions towards andthrough the boiled plant-based material during drying causes negativeair ions to bind with at least a portion of terpenes that remain in theboiled plant-based material, thereby further neutralize the odor and/ortaste without, at that point, further reducing the cannabinoids levels.

THC is not a legal compound federally. Its use may only be legal inStates and only within that State that has legalized its use. Thereforethe embodiments of this invention may exclude the addition of THC whereit is not legal without changing the method or non-THC embodiments. CBDderived from hemp is federally legal. CBD may also be derived fromnon-hemp cannabis plants and must meet minimum THC levels to be used forinterstate purposes of one embodiment.

In an embodiment, the plant-based material comprises hemp.

In an embodiment, the plant-based material comprises cannabis.

In an embodiment, the liquid medium is water.

In an embodiment, drying comprises drying until the moisture level ofthe boiled plant-based material is from about 3 percent and about 5percent.

In an embodiment, the drying comprises drying until the moisture levelof the boiled plant-based material is about 5 percent.

In an embodiment, the boiled plant-based material includes less of thecontents that are responsible for imparting odor and/or taste than theplant-based material.

In an embodiment, at least a portion of the contents of the boiledplant-based material that are responsible for imparting odor and/ortaste comprises terpenes.

In an embodiment, at least a portion of the contents of the boiledplant-based material that are responsible for imparting odor and/ortaste comprise flavonoids.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises spreading the boiledplant-based material for drying thereby increasing the exposure ofsurfaces of the boiled plant-based material to the negative air ions.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises conveying the negativeair ions bound with at least a portion of the terpenes away from theboiled plant-based material.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises recovering from theliquid medium at least a portion of cannabinoids separated from theplant-based material during the boiling.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises recovering from theliquid medium at least a portion of terpenes separated from theplant-based material during the boiling.

According to an aspect, there is provided a plant-based material productproduced by the method.

According to an aspect, there is provided a treated plant-based materialproduct comprising the plant-based material product produced by themethod and a treatment material.

In an embodiment, the treatment material comprises a flavoring agent.

In an embodiment, the flavoring agent is a tobacco flavoring agent.

In an embodiment, the treatment material is selected from the groupconsisting of: cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), caffeine, aflavoring agent, and combinations thereof.

According to an aspect, there is provided a smoking productincorporating the plant-based material product and/or the treatedplant-based material product.

In an embodiment, the smoking product is a cigarette.

According to an aspect, there is provided a plant-based material productcomprising boiled plant-based material dried while being exposed tonegative air ions.

According to an aspect, there is provided a treated plant-based materialproduct comprising the plant-based material product and a treatmentmaterial.

In an embodiment, the treatment material comprises a flavoring agent.

In an embodiment, the flavoring agent is a tobacco-flavoring agent.

In an embodiment, the treatment material is selected from the groupconsisting of: cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), caffeine, aflavoring agent, and combinations thereof.

According to an aspect, there is provided a smoking productincorporating the plant-based material product and/or the treatedplant-based material product.

In an embodiment, the smoking product is a cigarette.

Other aspects and embodiments will become apparent upon reading thefollowing description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an overview flow chart of processingnon-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based material for smokingproducts of one embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows for illustrative purposes only an example ofnon-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based material processing ofone embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of an overview of terpenes found in manyplants of one embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of an overview of non-addictive-nicotinenon-tobacco plant-based material flavoring agents of one embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows for illustrative purposes only an example of amanufacturing/processing flow chart of one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way ofillustration a specific example in which the invention may be practiced.It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized andstructural changes may be made without departing from the scope of thepresent invention.

General Overview:

It should be noted that the descriptions that follow, for example, interms of processing plant material for use in smoking products aredescribed for illustrative purposes and the underlying system can applyto any number and multiple types of plant materials. In one embodimentof the present invention, the processing plant material for use insmoking products can be configured using cigarettes. The processingplant material for use in smoking products can be configured to includeprocesses for removing at least a portion of plant material terpenes andcan be configured to include adding flavoring agents using the presentinvention.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an overview flow chart of processingnon-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based material for smokingproducts of one embodiment. FIG. 1 shows selecting and blendingnon-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based materials for placing ina container for boiling 100. Maintaining the plant-based materialsubmerged within a liquid medium in a container while the liquid mediumis being boiled 110. The process continues with removing the boiledplant-based material from container 120 and drying the boiledplant-based material 130.

Drying comprising in one embodiment directing negative air ions towardsand through the boiled plant-based material 140 is performed. Dryingcomprising directing negative air ions towards and through the boiledplant-based material 140 allows binding to the negative air ions andremoving a portion of boiled plant-based material terpenes to furtherneutralize the boiled plant-based material odor and/or taste 150.Treating the dried boiled plant-based material with flavoring agents 160produces in one embodiment non-addictive-nicotine non-tobaccoplant-based material for smoking products with taste familiar withsmokers.

Providing at least one non-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco smokingproduct incorporating the plant-based material product or the treatedplant-based material product including a cigarette 170. Smokers are morelikely to transition in one instance from regular nicotine tobaccocigarettes to the non-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-basedmaterial smoking products cigarettes if the appearance, taste, andsmokability are not different than what they are used to smoking. Thetransition being less noticeable to the smoker may allow the smoker toreduce the intake of the addictive nicotine and ease quitting smokingaltogether if the smoker chooses to do so in one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 2 shows for illustrative purposes only an example ofnon-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based material processing ofone embodiment. FIG. 2 shows a non-addictive-nicotine non-tobaccoplant-based material manufacturing/processing flow chart 200. In oneembodiment non-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based materialscontain seeds. In those instances, a seed cleaning 202 process removesthe seeds from the selected non-addictive-nicotine non-tobaccoplant-based material. A knife mill 210 cuts a selectednon-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based material into smallersizes for efficiencies in further processing steps. The reduced sizeselected non-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based materials aremixed in a blending 220 process. The blended selectednon-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based materials are processedfor packing nylon bags 230 with the blended mixture.

The blended selected non-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-basedmaterials in nylon bags are submerged within a liquid medium in acontainer while the liquid medium is being boiled during a boiling“softening process” 240 and to remove at least a portion of terpenesfrom the plant-based materials to reduce odor and taste inherent in theplant-based material. In one embodiment the liquid medium is water. Theboiling process continues for a predetermined period of time based onthe characteristics of the selected non-addictive-nicotine non-tobaccoplant-based materials. A centrifuge de-watering 250 process removes theliquid medium in preparation for a drying process.

In one embodiment a fast-drying—flash dry high heat short time (nonegative-ion, high heat 260 process is performed. In another embodimenta long drying—flash dry high heat short time (negative-ion, 110 f lowheat) 270 process is performed. A negative-ion bath passes negative-ionsthrough the plant-based materials to remove at least a portion ofterpenes remaining from the plant-based materials to reduce the odor andtaste inherent in the plant-based material. In one embodiment the driednon-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based materials are packaged ina vacuum sealing 290 process. In another embodiment, the driednon-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based materials are flavored ina blending/flavoring 280 processes and then packaged in a vacuum sealing290 process. The processed non-addictive-nicotine non-tobaccoplant-based materials are provided for non-addictive-nicotinenon-tobacco products. For example, in one embodiment the product isnon-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based material smoking productsunflavored cigarettes 292. In another embodiment, for example theproduct is non-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based materialsmoking products flavored cigarettes 294.

To process plant-based material such as hemp so that it is in acondition for flavoring/treatment and subsequent co-packing as a smokingproduct, various steps are undertaken. For example, incoming plant-basedmaterial (flower, stalks, leaves, seeds) is documented and weighed and,if the plant-based material has excessive branches and sticks, isshucked. In this embodiment, for the most part, the plant-based materialis kept intact for much of the downstream processing such as boiling anddrying, instead of being broken down beforehand using, for example, aknife mill or a seed knife mill. Particularly in the case of plant-basedmaterial with cannabinoids, keeping the plant-based material as intactas possible through processing may reduce some of the loss of thecannabinoids that are desired for products.

In one embodiment to reduce waste processing is performed toreconstitute the hemp material. The residual hemp material from themanufacturing is boiled, dried, and ‘bathe’ in negative ions for 7 daysproducing a pulp. The pulp is 70% tasteless, flavorless hemp. In oneembodiment the blended plant-based material is 70% hemp pulp and 30%cocoa husks. In another embodiment the blended plant-based material is94% hemp pulp and 6% mullein. In yet another embodiment the blendedplant-based material is 70% hemp pulp with 24% cocoa husks and 6%mullein. The pulp is processed into leaflets. The leaflets are cased andcut into what is called “cut rag”. Flavoring is added to the cut ragthen vacuum sealed in bags and used in the manufacture of for examplenon-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco smoking products. Reconstitution ofthe residual hemp materials reduces waste material in a range of 40-50%to less than 5%. The reconstituted hemp materials retain about 50% ofcannabinoids after primary manufacturing and cut rag manufacturing. Thefinished reconstituted hemp materials non-addictive-nicotine non-tobaccosmoking products have the appearance, taste, smell, touch, sound, andsensation of smoking as tobacco smoking products without the nicotineand tobacco without compromising the smoking experience of oneembodiment.

Following any shucking, a quantum of the plant-based material issubmerged in a liquid medium contained with a container. In thisembodiment, the liquid medium is water that may, at the time ofsubmerging, be already at a boil, or that may be brought to a boil whilethe plant-based material is submerged. In this embodiment, theplant-based material is boiled within the container for about five (5)minutes and is then removed. The plant-based material may be held underthe liquid medium using a screen, in somewhat the same manner as is doneduring pasteurization for brewing, using a device and container that isfunctionally similar to, though different in scale and other respects, acoffee press.

In this embodiment, rather than rapidly cooling the boiled plant-basedmaterial in ice water as might be done in other processes, the boiledplant-based material is allowed to cool more slowly outside of thecontainer. This permits the continued killing of enzymes for a timeafter the plant-based material has been removed from the container.

With the boiled plant-based material having been removed from thecontainer, the liquid medium may be re-used with another batch of theplant medium, may be filtered, or may be entirely discarded. It will beappreciated that re-use of the liquid medium is preferable to discardingit entirely, provided that the contaminants removed from a previousbatch of plant-based material are not then imparted to a current batchof plant-based material, frustrating the object of the boiling. Variousfiltration methods suitable for filtering the liquid medium either afterevery batch, or more continuously rather than as solely as a batchprocess, are available.

Because the boiling process will, along with contaminants, removeterpenes and cannabinoids from the plant-based material, a recoveryprocess may be conducted that recovers/captures the terpenes and/orcannabinoids from the liquid medium so that they can be used indownstream processes. For example, such terpenes and/or cannabinoids maybe collected and re-incorporated as part of the resultant smokingproducts or may be collected and used for other purposes entirely.

The boiled plant-based material is then spread out on drying screens fordrying. Drying, in this embodiment, includes directing air towards andthrough the boiled and spread-out plant-based material. Furthermore, toaid in the further neutralization of the naturally occurring flavors andaromas, a negative ion generator and fan are used to generate and directnegative air ions towards and through the boiled and spread-outplant-based material lying on the screens. The negative air ions areconveyed from the negative ion generator by the fan through tubes havingexit apertures proximal to the screens. As the air passes through theplant-based material, the negative ions bind with the terpenes in theplant-based material but not with the cannabinoids. The binding servesto neutralize the terpenes and the air is thereafter conveyed away fromthe plant-based material via ventilation.

The boiled plant-based material is subjected to drying including thedirecting of the negative air ions towards and through the boiledplant-based material until the boiled plant-based material reaches amoisture level of about 5 percent. The thus-processed plant-basedmaterial is then removed from the screens and optionally subjected tofurther treatment using a treatment material. For example, furthertreatment may include the blending of a treatment material with theprocessed plant-based material. The treatment material may be acannabidiol (CBD), a cannabigerol (CBG), caffeine, and a flavoringagent, some combination of these materials, or other materials orcombinations thereof. Following this, the processed material is packagedfor shipping to a co-packer for physical inclusion as part of a smokingproduct such as a cigarette, or is simply conveyed without the need forshipping to a downstream station for inclusion as part of the smokingproduct.

Although embodiments have been described, those of skill in the art willappreciate that variations and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit, scope, and purpose of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

For example, while in embodiments described herein drying brings themoisture level of the boiled plant-based material down to about 5percent, alternatives are possible in which the moisture level is higheror lower than about 5 percent, such as between about 3 and about 5percent. It will be appreciated that moisture levels may beadvantageously different for different smoking products.

Furthermore, while in embodiments described herein a particular processfor processing plant-based material to produce a plant-based materialproduct is used, alternatives are possible. For example, other processesfor producing a plant-based material product comprising boiledplant-based material dried while being exposed to negative air ions maybe provided.

Terpenes Found in Many Plants:

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of an overview of terpenes found in manyplants of one embodiment. FIG. 3 shows selecting plant-based materialsused for smoking from a group consisting of 311 pelletized tea leaves312, hemp 313, cocoa husks 314, mullein 315, synthetic tobacco 316, andsynthetic non-addictive nicotine 317. Boiling plant-based materialsremoves at least a portion of terpenes from plant-based materials 320.Negative ions used in the drying process removes at least a portion ofterpenes from plant-based materials 330. Removing terpenes reduces thenatural odor and taste from the plant-based materials 340. After drying,smoking products are produced without added flavorings 345 and are usedin producing smoking products. After drying processes smoking productsare produced with added flavorings for smokers who are used to smokingflavored tobacco products 350. Flavored and unflavored smoking productsare non-addictive-nicotine and non-tobacco alternatives 360.

Flavored and unflavored smoking products are non-addictive-nicotine andnon-tobacco alternatives 360 that may assist smokers desiring to quitsmoking in reducing addictive nicotine intake 370. A nicotine tobaccocessation digital device app provides suggestions in quitting nicotineand tobacco 380. The nicotine tobacco cessation digital device appfacilitates creating quitting nicotine and tobacco group and family andfriends support groups 390 of one embodiment.

Non-Addictive-Nicotine Non-Tobacco Plant-Based Material FlavoringAgents:

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of an overview of non-addictive-nicotinenon-tobacco plant-based material flavoring agents of one embodiment.FIG. 4 shows selecting flavorings to treat non-addictive-nicotinenon-tobacco plant-based materials 400. Treating thenon-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based materials with at leastone flavoring from a group consisting of 410 where legal and inaccordance with federal, state, and local laws cannabidiol (CBD) 420,where legal and in accordance with federal, state, and local lawscannabigerol (CBG) 430, caffeine 440, synthetic tobacco flavoring 450,synthetic non-addictive-nicotine flavoring 452, other flavoring agentsand combinations of flavoring agents 460. This method and processing arefor creating a non-addictive-nicotine, non-tobacco plant-based materialssmoking product that in appearance, taste, and smokability is what asmoker is accustomed to when smoking 470. Mimicking the smoker'shabitual product in appearance, taste, and smokability may aid thesmoker in not returning to their old smoking products 480 of oneembodiment.

Manufacturing/Processing Flow Chart:

FIG. 5 shows for illustrative purposes only an example ofmanufacturing/processing flow chart of one embodiment. FIG. 5 shows inone embodiment a manufacturing/processing flow chart 500. Themanufacturing/processing flow chart 500 shows product handling andprocessing and equipment utilized for the processing. A plant-basedproduct for example may include hemp in super sacks 510 that areprocessed in seed cleaners 520. A knife/hammer mill 530 chops the hempplant-based materials into smaller pieces.

A double cone mixer/blender 540 blends a selected mixture of plant-basedmaterials and packages the selected mixture in mesh bags 550. A blancher560 is used for boiling the selected plant mixture in the mesh bags 550to remove at least a portion of terpenes. A dewatering centrifuge 570processes the selected plant mixture in the mesh bags 550 to removewater and other liquids used in the boiling process.

A double cone vacuum dryer 580 performs a drying process that includes anegative ion air purifier bath 582 to further remove at least a portionof terpenes remaining in the plant-based materials. A double conemixer/flavor 590 is used for applying selected flavorings to the driedplant-based materials. Both unflavored and flavored dried selectedplant-based materials are placed in a container and are vacuum-sealedusing a vacuum seal 592 device of one embodiment.

The foregoing has described the principles, embodiments, and modes ofoperation of the present invention. However, the invention should not beconstrued as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed. Theabove described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative ratherthan restrictive, and it should be appreciated that variations may bemade in those embodiments by workers skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention as defined by thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for processing plant-based material forsmoking products, the method comprising: maintaining the plant-basedmaterial submerged within a liquid medium in a container while theliquid medium is being boiled; removing the boiled plant-based materialfrom the container; drying the boiled plant-based material; anddirecting negative air ions through boiled plant-based materials to atleast partially neutralize odor and/or taste.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the plant-based material comprises hemp.
 3. The method of claim1 or 2, wherein the plant-based material comprises cannabis.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the liquid medium is water.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein drying comprises drying until the moisture level of theboiled plant-based material is from about 3 percent and about 5 percent.6. The method of claim 1, wherein the boiled plant-based materialincludes less of the contents that are responsible for imparting odorand/or taste than the plant-based material.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein at least a portion of the plant-based materials used for smokinginclude pelletized tea leaves, hemp, cocoa husks, mullein, synthetictobacco, and synthetic non-addictive nicotine.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein directing the negative air ions towards and through the boiledplant-based material causes the negative air ions to bind with at leasta portion of terpenes in the boiled plant-based material that isresponsible for imparting odor and/or taste, thereby to neutralize theodor and/or taste.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprisingspreading the boiled plant-based material for drying thereby increasingthe exposure of surfaces of the boiled plant-based material to thenegative air ions.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprisingconveying the negative air ions bound with at least a portion of theterpenes away from the boiled plant-based material.
 11. An apparatus,comprising: a container for maintaining the plant-based materialsubmerged within a liquid medium in the container while the liquidmedium is being boiled; a drying device for placing the boiledplant-based material from the container; and at least one drying systemincludes a device for directing negative air ions towards and throughthe boiled plant-based material to at least partially neutralize odorand/or taste.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a liquidmedium recovery device for recovering from the liquid medium at least aportion of terpenes separated from the plant-based material during theboiling.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a treatmentdevice for applying at least one flavoring agent onto the dried boiledplant-based material.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprisinga negative air ions drying system for producing negative air ions fordirecting negative air ions towards and through the boiled plant-basedmaterial.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a humiditysensor for monitoring the humidity level of the drying boiledplant-based material.
 16. An apparatus, comprising: anon-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based material processingsystem for producing non-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-basedmaterial smoking products; a container for maintaining the plant-basedmaterial submerged within a liquid medium in the container while theliquid medium is being boiled; a drying device for placing the boiledplant-based material from the container; at least one drying systemincluding a device for directing negative air ions towards and throughthe boiled plant-based material to at least partially neutralize odorand/or taste; at least one treatment device for treating dried boiledplant-based material with at least one treatment material; and at leastone processing device for producing smoking products with thenon-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based material includingcigarettes.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising at leastone treatment material that is a flavoring agent including atobacco-flavoring agent.
 18. The apparatus of claim 16, furthercomprising a nicotine tobacco cessation digital device app to assist thesmoker of the non-addictive-nicotine non-tobacco plant-based materialsmoking products with suggestions in quitting smoking.
 19. The apparatusof claim 16, further comprising at least one treatment material isselected from the group consisting of: cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol(CBG), caffeine, a flavoring agent, and combinations thereof.
 20. Theapparatus of claim 16, further comprising the container liquid medium iswater.